NFL announces Cowboys’ 2026 complete 17-game schedule – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
It’s here, in all its glory, plus preseason.
FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys’ 2026 regular season schedule has finally been released in full.
Dallas will be one of the most traveled teams in the NFL, as they’re set to go across 27,980 miles this season looking to try and improve from their 7-9-1 finish in 2025 in year one under Brian Schottenheimer.
For the first time since 2014, the Cowboys will play a regular season game internationally. Dallas will host the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL’s first game in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, in Week 3. Additionally for the first time since 2014, the Cowboys will face their NFC East rival Eagles on Thanksgiving. To get started, here are the Cowboys’ preseason opponents with home games in bold:
Preseason Week 1: Dallas Cowboys @ Seattle Seahawks
Preseason Week 2: Dallas Cowboys @ Arizona Cardinals
Preseason Week 3: Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints
Cowboys schedule 2026: Instant predictions for all 17 games – Dave Halprin, Blogging the Boys
Now that we know the exact schedule, what do you think the Cowboys record will be in 2026?
The Dallas Cowboys 2026 schedule is out. Let’s predict each game.
Week 1: Cowboys at Giants
The Giants will become a good team under John Harbaugh, but they have a ways to go to get there. They need a better roster, and they will need time to digest Harbaugh’s way. They’ll get there but not this quickly. Plus, Malik Nabers could miss the game from injury.
Cowboys win: 1-0 record
Week 2: Commanders at Cowboys
The Cowboys get off to a strong NFC East start by winning two games in a row in the division. The Cowboys offense at home will be too much for the Commanders defense. We’ll also get a second look at how a Christian Parker defense deals with a mobile quarterback.
Cowboys win: 2-0 record
Week 3: Ravens at Cowboys (Brazil)
The Cowboys get another team with a new coach. They played the departed Harbaugh in Week 1. In Week 3, they get his replacement in Jesse Minter. There is plenty of turnover on the coaching staff in Baltimore, but they still have talent on the roster. Both teams are trying to recover from a substandard 2025. It’s a tough call, but Ravens win.
Cowboys lose: 2-1 record
Week 4: Cowboys at Texans
The Texans keep making the playoffs, then fail to make any noise once there. Sounds like another Texas team we know of. The Cowboys did miss the tournament last season while the Texans went 12-5 on the year. Still, we smell a Cowboys road victory coming in this intrastate matchup.
Cowboys win: 3-1 record
Cowboys’ 2026 NFL Schedule Rumors Show Why Dallas Is Still America’s Team – Josh Sanchez, SI.com
The Cowboys 2026 schedule is jam packed full of prime-time games.
We are just hours away from the official release of the 2026 NFL schedule, and fans across the league are being reminded once again why the Dallas Cowboys are America’s Team.
Dallas is the most valuable brand in American sports, and the undeniably the biggest brand in the NFL. That’s why, despite missing the postseason in back-to-back years, the Cowboys will once again be in the spotlight as much as any team in the league.
According to the flurry of schedule rumors and official announcements by the league, the Cowboys are currently slated to have six standalone games, meaning they will be the only game on at their scheduled time. Out of the standalone games, five are in primetime, and one is on Thanksgiving Day.
There are also three remaining dates on the calendar that have no games rumored at this time, so the number could rise when the schedule is officially released. That means we could be seeing the Cowboys in more primetime matchups than any other team in the league in 2026.
Dallas Cowboys schedule 2026: Takeaways, predictions – Todd Archer, ESPN.com
What are the biggest takeaways from the Cowboys schedule release?
Biggest takeaway
Sleep science might be the most important phrase to describe the early part of the season, particularly Weeks 3-5, when the Cowboys play three games in 12 days. After a 10-hour flight back from Rio de Janeiro (Ravens), they face the Texans before a quick turnaround for the Thursday nighter against the Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium. After the Cowboys get through that stretch, they face the Packers and Eagles.
Then there will be another three-game gauntlet beginning on Thanksgiving with a home rematch versus the Eagles, followed by a Monday night game at the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks, their bye week and a road game against the 2025 NFC runner-up Rams in Week 15.
Cowboys rookie’s comments prove the Christian Parker impact is already real – Jason Kandel, The Landry Hat
Devin Moore speaks on new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
By going from Matt Eberflus to Christian Parker, the Dallas Cowboys have upgraded considerably at defensive coordinator. That’s like going from The Last Jedi to The Empire Strikes Back. And we’re already seeing the impacts of the Cowboys having a competent mind calling their plays on defense.
Parker has a background coaching defensive backs, and for a Dallas defense that owned the NFL’s worst pass defense in 2025, that matters. He helped develop players like Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Patrick Surtain II, so his track record should help the Cowboys’ own young DB room.
Caleb Downs was believed to be the player with the most to gain from the Parker hire, but he’s not the only one in line to benefit. While speaking to Cowboys beat reporter and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris, fourth-round cornerback Devin Moore was asked about adjusting to the NFL, and had nothing but good things to say about his new DC.
“It’s been amazing,” Moore said. “He’s taught me so many things that I needed to learn, he’s helped me elevate my game. Just being around him, he’s a great dude…“
Daily discussion question: What do you think of the Cowboys’ schedule?
